Interpreting Commodity Futures and Options Price Quotes

Joe ParcellProfessorDepartment of Agricultural and Applied Economics

Producers who are not familiar with futures and options price quotes may find the initial process of interpretation time-consuming and frustrating. This guide explains how to interpret commodity price quotes for futures and options, using an example of each. The examples are for cattle, but the interpretation process also applies to grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice and hogs.

Contract shows the month and year of the feeder cattle futures contract for which the price quote is given. For instance, Jan-11 refers to the futures contract due to expire in January 2011.

Open represents the opening futures price for the day.

High represents the high bid for the day so far.

Low represents the low bid for the day so far.

Last represents the most recent bid of the day. For example, at 11:42 a.m. the last value would be the most recent bid and the high and low would represent the high and low bids of the day up until 11:42 a.m.

Volume represents the number of short or long contracts traded up until that time of the day. That is, a volume of 287 indicates 287 short positions and 287 long positions have been taken, sellers equal buyers.

Settle represents the final bid price (also called the settle or close price) for the most recently concluded trading day.

News services sometimes report weekly averages for the low and high bids and the close price. You cannot determine what day the low or high occurred through weekly quotes.

Strike represents the price for which the call or put option contract can be transferred into a futures market position.

Open represents the opening options price for the day. For instance, the $3.61 per hundredweight open price for a 125000 call is the price that was bid at the beginning of the day for a $125 per hundredweight Chicago Mercantile Exchange Feeder Cattle Call option.

High represents the high premium bid for the day.

Low represents the low premium bid for the day.

Last represents the most recent premium bid of the day. For example, at 11:42 a.m. the last value would be the most recent bid and the high and low would represent the high and low of the day up until 11:42 a.m.

Change represents the change in bid value from the previous day close.

Volume represents the number of put or call contracts traded up until that time of the day.

Original authorsJoe Parcell and Vern Pierce, formerly of the Department of Agricultural Economics